History

Military occupation and seizure

The Monastery of Montsant was occupied by military forces in both the War of the Spanish Succession and the Napoleonic wars. The Spanish state partially requisitioned the building in 1820, and a minister named Mendizábal made the transfer of title permanent in 1835. The monastery then became a widows’ asylum and poorhouse, before being sold in 1855 to a private buyer, who demolished the church and the cloister.